‘Fossum’s awesome’

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, June 3, 2008

A group of about 35 Boy Scouts sat silently and stared with their mouths open Saturday as the space shuttle Discovery took off on its 35th flight.

They were silent, that is, until astronaut Mike Fossum’s name came over the radio. Then, the room burst into applause.

Troop 1598 was gathered at the Star Fire Grill in Clear Lake to watch their scoutmaster take off on the ultimate “high adventure,” a trip through the Earth’s atmosphere strapped to more than 500,000 gallons of burning hydrogen and oxygen.

“It’s really cool to know an astronaut,” 11-year-old Austin Mohle said once the shuttle had safely reached outer space.

“It’s also kind of scary.”

Fellow Scout Hunter Murphy, 11, agreed.

“I think it’s kind of exciting, because I’ve always wanted to be an astronaut.”

Whether the boys will end up staring back at Earth from the stars one day is yet to be seen, but they didn’t choose to be part of Troop 1598 because they like to play it safe.

Acting Scoutmaster David Randall said the group strives to keep the focus on what are known in the scouting world as high-adventure activities.

These kids aren’t sitting around playing video games and watching television - they once built a raft from scratch, lashing trees together to carry their gear across a lake, said Keith Van Tassel, one of the group’s original leaders.

“We go on long hikes, and we get to go camping,” said Michael “Elvis” Presley, a 12-year-old Scout who coined the catch phrase “Fossum’s awesome.”

“We get to do a lot of things that the other troops don’t get to do.”

The troop also gives the older boys plenty of leadership practice - once they’ve learned enough skills, they spend the rest of their scouting careers teaching the younger kids, Randall said.

“We try to provide a manly-type culture, and a culture of service and responsibility,” he said, adding that the troop’s activities keep the boys engaged even into college, much longer than many groups.

The cool patrol names might also help. Who wouldn’t want to be a “Grim Reaper” or a “Jolly Roger,” or this reporter’s personal favorite, a “Pukin’ Dog”? Even the adult patrol is in on it, calling themselves the “Ghost Riders.”

Troop 1598 had nothing but praise for Fossum, possibly because they’ve noticed he takes scouting just as seriously as his one-in-a-million job.

He even found time to send the kids an e-mail the morning of the launch, said Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk, whose 12-year-old son, Aidan, is also in the troop.

“That’s incredible,” Thirsk said of Fossum’s e-mail. “(The troop) is a pretty big deal to him.”

Nate Harper, 16, said his Scout leader “doesn’t talk too much about being an astronaut.”

“Sometimes he brings patches that he took into space, but that’s it,” 14-year-old Jesse Rogers added. “He’s pretty normal.”